


Ich Liebe Dich

by sybil_romulus



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, just a couple of dudes being gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 07:18:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19080166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sybil_romulus/pseuds/sybil_romulus
Summary: Gilbert wants Alfred to meet his family which is fine, right? Well when you don't speak the language your boyfriend's family speaks, it gets a little more complicated. This is why Gilbert is trying his hardest to teach Alfred German, but it's easier said than done.





	Ich Liebe Dich

**Author's Note:**

> This is for aphrarepairweek2019 on tumblr

“Try again,” Gilbert said.

Alfred groaned. “We’ve been at this for hours. Can’t we take a break?”

Gilbert shook his head. “I want your German to be perfect for when you meet my family.”

“Does anyone in your family speak English?” Alfred asked.

“My dad and brother do, but my mom doesn't. That’s why you need to learn German.”

Alfred stood up and stretched. “I’m taking a break whether you like it or not.” He walked into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich. He sat down at the table and turned his phone on. As he was scrolling through his Twitter feed, Gilbert walked into the kitchen and took a seat next to Alfred.

“I understand German is hard for you, but it would mean a lot to me if you tried,” Gilbert said.

Alfred looked up from his phone. “I know, but I just don’t understand the grammar, and the plurals fuck me up. Why do you need so many different endings?” Alfred asked.

Gilbert chuckled in response.

“I’m serious. It’s hard.”

“You think English was easy to learn?” Gilbert asked.

“I can see where you’re coming from, but at least English has one ending for plural words,” Alfred countered.

“Let’s test your vocab,” Gilbert suggested. “Tell me what’s in your sandwich.”

“Man, I don’t know,” Alfred said. “What’s the word for bread again?”

Gilbert sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “Fine. Then describe this room to me.”

Alfred thought for a moment. “ _Der Stuhl ist neben der Tisch_.” He gave Gilbert a questioning look.

Gilbert nodded. “ _Dem Tisch_ , not _der Tisch_. More.”

“ _Der Herd ist unter_ …” Alfred’s voice trailed off. “What is the translation for microwave again? And what case is it in?”

Gilbert shook his head. “Come on, we did furniture vocab not too long ago. I know you know this.”

“Uh, is it _die_?” Alfred asked.

Gilbert nodded. “Yes, but what case would it be in?”

Alfred threw his hands up in frustration. “I don’t know. Like I said, German is fucking hard.”

“Do you want to go over the cases again?"

Alfred nodded. “That’d be nice.”

“Okay, the nominative case is for the subject of the sentence. Who or what is doing something. The accusative case is who is directly affected; direct objects. Are you following?”

“Sort of.”

“Okay. The dative case is to whom something is being done; the indirect object. The genitive case shows possession,” Gilbert said. “The sentence you are trying to say would be: _Der Herd ist unter der Mikrowelle_ . Normally, microwave is translated to _die Mikrowelle_ , but right now it is in the dative case. It is the indirect object, so we change _die_ to _der_.”

Alfred pressed his head onto the able and groaned. “I don’t understand.”

“That’s why I have you write everything down. I’ll go get the journal.” Gilbert stood up and walked into the living room. He was only gone for a second before returning with the journal in hand. “Okay, let’s review the cases.”

“Please, can we take a break. My brain hurts,” Alfred pleaded.

Gilbert saw the look on Alfred’s face and sighed. “Fine. We don’t have to review the cases, but there is something I’d like for us to practice. And before you groan, just listen.” He sat down next to Alfred and said, “what does _ich liebe dich_ mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on. You know what _ich_ and _dich_ mean, right? I didn’t fail you this hard.”

“ _Ich_ means I and _dich_ means you,” Alfred said.

“Good, now what does _liebe_ mean?” Gilbert asked.

“I really don’t know,” Alfred said.

“What do I call you? What’s my pet name for you?” Gilbert asked, leaning closer to Alfred.

“ _Liebling_ ,” Alfred answered.

“Great. Now if you put two and two together, you get what?”

“That means… oh my god Gilbert, that’s gay,” Alfred said. “It means I love you.”

Gilbert smiled. “Now say it in German.”

“ _Ich liebe dich."_

“Perfect,” Gilbert said. He gently caressed Alfred’s face before pulling him close and kissing him. He slowly pulled away and whispered, “by the way, the German word for bread is _Brot_.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I got the German grammar correct. I busted out my own journal, German book, and I watched a video on the German cases by youtuber Learn German With Anja. She has very educational videos, and if you're learning German I would seriously recommend them.


End file.
